Film about Swiss folk hero An Irishman and a Dane go to Rome to shoot "William Tell"
"William Tell" tells the story of how Switzerland rebelled against the Austrian invasion.
Image: Crossbow Films Limited
William Tell is the leader and convinces his countrymen and women to rebel against tyranny.
Image: Crossbow Films Limited
Danish actor Claes Bang plays the Swiss folk hero in the historical epic "William Tell".
Image: IMAGO/UPI Photo
Irish director Nick Hamm originally comes from the theater and knows Friedrich Schiller's plays inside out: Now he has turned the legend of Tell into a movie.
Image: IMAGO/Sipa USA
Connor Swindells had his breakthrough in the Netflix series "Sex Education", in "William Tell" he plays the role of Gessler.
Image: IMAGO/FAMOUS
"William Tell" tells the story of how Switzerland rebelled against the Austrian invasion.
Image: Crossbow Films Limited
William Tell is the leader and convinces his countrymen and women to rebel against tyranny.
Image: Crossbow Films Limited
Danish actor Claes Bang plays the Swiss folk hero in the historical epic "William Tell".
Image: IMAGO/UPI Photo
Irish director Nick Hamm originally comes from the theater and knows Friedrich Schiller's plays inside out: Now he has turned the legend of Tell into a movie.
Image: IMAGO/Sipa USA
Connor Swindells had his breakthrough in the Netflix series "Sex Education", in "William Tell" he plays the role of Gessler.
Image: IMAGO/FAMOUS
The legend of William Tell has attracted international attention: Irish director Nick Hamm dares to tell the story on film. It's certainly bizarre, but not based on Schiller.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The film "William Tell", directed by Nick Hamm, adapts the Swiss legend, but with artistic freedom and international actors, including a Dane in the leading role. The film was shot in South Tyrol instead of Switzerland.
- The narrative deviates from Schiller's original, particularly in the depiction of Tell's iconic apple shot and the wounding of Gessler instead of his death.
- Despite quirky elements and adaptations, the film is obviously aimed at an international audience, with a possible sequel that could continue the story.
It is probably still the case that every child in Switzerland knows the legend of William Tell. The Swiss folk hero who refuses to bow to the Habsburgs. The national hero who refuses to salute Gessler's hat and is consequently ordered to shoot an apple off his son Walter's head.
It is supposed to be a demonstration of power that will subjugate the Swiss people. But the shot - ironically - backfires because Tell's bolt finds its target.
The play by Friedrich Schiller is apparently not only known in Switzerland, but also beyond the country's borders. At least I wasn't aware of this - but now I know how the Scots felt when Mel Gibson played their national hero William Wallace in "Braveheart".
This is because Irish director Nick Hamm decided to film the story of our national hero. It sounds absolutely absurd. An Irishman films Tell with an almost two-meter tall Dane in the leading role. And the filming location is Rome, where the crew has recreated Altdorf.
And Hamm didn't stick exactly to Schiller's source material. But more on that later.
Beautiful Swiss landscapes - filmed in South Tyrol
The epic film "William Tell" celebrated its premiere at the Zurich Film Festival - and I have to admit, it's bizarre. Of course, everyone speaks English, but they all make an effort with terms like "Uri", "Unterwalden" or "Küssnacht".
The drama opens with the infamous shot at the apple on Walter's head - without revealing whether Tell actually makes the shot. "Three days earlier" flickers across the screen. We see central Switzerland, beautiful landscapes filmed in South Tyrol. Tell feeds his goats, teaches his son Walter how to use a crossbow - and discovers Austrian horsemen in the process.
They force a peasant family to feed them and wash them. The Habsburg bailiff, who goes by the name of Wolfenschiessen, abuses the farmer's wife and even kills her. When her husband Konrad Baumgarten discovers this, he strangles Wolfenschiessen in the bathtub and flees. This is the beginning of the Swiss resistance against the Habsburgs.
Meanwhile, Tell sees his beloved country increasingly oppressed by the Austrian tyranny - above all by the Habsburg bailiff Gessler, played by an outstanding Connor Swindells. The young man clearly had fun with the role of the villain.
"The second bolt would have been for you"
He hangs up his hat in Altdorf. Everyone has to greet him as they pass by - anyone who doesn't will be arrested. When Walter takes a close look at the hat without greeting it, his father drags him away. Under the watchful eyes of the Habsburg soldiers, of course, who want to arrest Tell immediately. Gessler, however, has other plans; he has heard of his patrols being killed by crossbowmen.
Could Tell be behind this? His plan to subdue the Swiss resistance fighter backfires badly: kneel before the hat or shoot an apple off your son's head. So Tell loads his crossbow, puts a second bolt in his belt - and, as we know, hits the apple.
But Gessler wonders: why the second bolt in his belt? Tell: "If I had killed my son, the second bolt would have been for you." That's abadass statement. Gessler thus created the leader of the rebellion himself - and had him arrested despite the successful shot. To great protest from the people of Altdorf.
And this is where director Nick Hamm takes a different path to the one Schiller set.
After Tell arrives at the present-day Tellsplatte following the storm on Lake Lucerne, he intercepts Gessler in the hollow alley near Küssnacht. In Schiller's story, Gessler dies there; in the film, the bolt simply pierces his hand.
A whole Tell franchise?
After a "Braveheart" moment - "they can take our lives, but not our freedom" or whatever - Tell mobilizes the united Central Swiss to fight back. They then use a ruse to infiltrate Altdorf, which is in Austrian hands. With the second bolt from the apple shot, William Tell finally wounds Gessler in the battle for Altdorf and leaves him to his fate. Right next to the stake on which his hat hangs, of course.
But that's not all: as we see, the Habsburg King Albrecht (played by Sir Ben Kingsley) is stabbed to death by his niece - in Schiller's play it is his nephew. And so the tyrant's daughter swears revenge. The film closes with a long shot of Habsburg Castle, in front of which a large Austrian army is forming.
So Nick Hamm is even planning a sequel? A whole franchise with Tell at the front, perhaps? That's almost certainly not going to happen. It's a decision I can't understand - but what films these days don't leave room for a sequel? Too many, unfortunately.
All in all, "William Tell" is probably a rather laughable portrayal of the national hero for the Swiss. However, the film may find an international audience. The drama has not yet been released in Swiss cinemas, but this is likely to follow.
